pulling away

verb

present participle of pull away
as in detaching

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pulling away
  1. detaching
  2. disengaging
  3. flying
  4. disentangling
  5. fleeing
  6. backing down
  7. shrinking
  8. flinching
Verb
  • There have been four reports of eyes detaching from the teething toy, but no injuries have been reported, federal officials said.
    — Julia Hawkins, Sacbee.com, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Orion and the Artemis III crew will stay docked with Starship for about a day before detaching to begin preparations for their return to Earth.
    — Josh Dinner, Space.com, 20 July 2026
Definition of detaching
Verb
  • Nothing about that reaches the employee who is steadily gaining weight, quietly disengaging from exercise or managing chronic stress without any support.
    — Neepa Patel, Forbes.com, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Vicki disengaging is par for the course at this point — and speaking of par, the women arrive at the country club to practice their golf swings and deliver enough material to fill an episode.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of disengaging
Verb
  • Bombers flying from South Dakota to targets in Iran would cost more in fuel and flying time than those taking off from England's Cotswolds region, which is 3,900 miles closer to Tehran.
    — Steve Hendrix, Arkansas Online, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Experts who study bats say that, although residents should practice caution, the odds of getting rabies from the flying creatures remain very low.
    — Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of flying
Verb
  • Cutting Iran off completely from the UAE could deal a serious blow to the Islamic Republic’s economy — but experts say disentangling the pair’s commercial ties could prove difficult.
    — semafor.com, semafor.com, 20 Aug. 2026
  • New characters and backstory details are dropped in before existing loose ends are tied up, resulting in unclear motivations and convoluted layers of subplot that, ultimately, do not prove relevant enough to have been worth disentangling.
    — Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of disentangling
Verb
  • In 2009, two Israeli tank shells exploded immediately outside Al-Fakhoora, which was crowded with families fleeing an Israeli ground offensive.
    — Mosab Abu Toha, New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2026
  • As expected, the animals became anxious, either fleeing the threatening odor or freezing in place.
    — Cody Cottier, Scientific American, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of fleeing
Verb
  • But bottom line here, George, the White House shows no signs of backing down.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Sheeran himself has faced significant backlash over the move, with critics blasting him for backing down, not supporting Macklemore and seeking to avoid taking sides on the matter.
    — Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of backing down
Verb
  • But Moody’s says the fiscal pressures from aging emerge long before populations actually start shrinking.
    — Elsa Ohlen, CNBC, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Part of the reason for his town’s interest, Brule said, is the need to make up for shrinking tax revenues from Millstone, which experienced a decline in property values following deregulation.
    — John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of shrinking
Verb
  • In my experience, automation becomes commercially viable not when failures disappear, but when the system is built to handle them without flinching.
    — Shivansh Inamdar, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Amy Adams’ Anna Bowden — who has a complicated history with Max as his former lawyer — peeks through the curtain to spy on him, flinching as Max insists on snapping his own broken finger into place.
    — Benjamin VanHoose, PEOPLE, 6 July 2026
Definition of flinching
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

pulling a face
pulling away
pulling down
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pulling away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pulling%20away. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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